Wow. I need to get better at keeping up with this thing.

Book news: Roadkill Angel might be scrapped, its highlight moments preserved for use and/or alteration in a future project. No word on the characters. Livewire, which is no longer available on the Internet in any form, will be undergoing a four-chapter reduction and enter its revision phase. Local readership is growing...even if the numbers are still in the single-digits.

Life news: Apparently, at the moment, I have the happiest marriage in my family. Considering I've only been married two years, that says something--and not anything necessarily good. But I'm still healthy, or so the doc says. Dermatologist's visit is on Tuesday. This is me crossing my fingers.

WoW news: Burningsky...well, she sucks solo, so she has essentially become a healbot for instance raids. Which is okay, because I LIKE playing the healbot. However, healbots do not often good damage-inducers make, so I decided to switch up and play my Draenei hunter (switch allegiances, switch races--still has horns and hooves, though!--switch classes). Burningsky, when last I left her, was 22.

Sharenei, on the other hand, is just a few bars shy of 29 and growing fast. The secret, besides having a combat buddy and not sucking with damage? Another wonderful guild. Name's a little weird--the Azuremyst Hillbillies (named after the server we play on)--but they're an awesome bunch who take care of their people and run a tight crew. Best part? There's almost always at least one or two people on to talk to, and spontaneous instance runs (for quest or pleasure) are frequent and fun.

Well, more to come later.

Simon Says I'm:: accomplished

( Because not everyone's as bothered as I am about this. )

( Which, of course, leads into the ACTUAL PvP rant. )

Simon Says I'm:: angry

( Story under cut. )

That's when I had to log off for a meeting. And I'm not kidding--level 7 and 8 people were floating around, aggroing crowds of 9 through 11 at random and not watching patrol paths. I think they exhibited more caution when I wasn't with them...or they just died more often. (I didn't think it was particularly BRIGHT to jump off the high rise in Thunder Bluff, but it's not my character and/or XP getting lost. We made it back to Bloodhoof Village before I left two hours early for my meeting. I wasn't sure if I could sit these two down long enough to convince them that a strategy was in order. Gyr seemed amenable enough to the idea, But Farawe was all about charging without thought.

So, in any event, not much else going on. My work room is slowly but surely taking on more decoration, which is nice...makes the place actually seem lived-in. Other than that, not much else to speak of. New catalogues are in, and I need to get back to working on the tea--been hitting up the root beer way too much lately, even if I DO have most of a 24-pack sitting on my counter because I have nowhere else to put it.

Simon Says I'm:: bored

( Put behind a cut, because this could easily become a habit. )

Simon Says I'm:: cheerful

Yay! After many-many-many attempts to level in the Rolling Plains of Mulgore before taking on Lunaclaw, I decided to see if I could make it to The Crossroads without getting beat up by an Ornery Plainstrider again. Leaving Camp Taurajo, I nervously ducked Level 17 Velociraptors and Level 20 Thunderheads (read: Stegosaurus) as I followed the Southern Gold Road a winding north and east. Continuously scanning the horizon, I came around a bend to find a bright green creature. Hovering over it with my gauntleted cursor, I discover it's a...Level 3 Blighted Gazelle?

Given that I've had no less than three quest givers send me to The Crossroads at Level 10, I MUST be close. Sure enough, what should emerge from the fog of war not three seconds later but the ramshackle walls of The Crossroads! Quickly mousing around as I run gleefully toward the large encampment, I see that it ranges from a comfortable Level 11 to a Level 14. Yes, I've found my new area. No class trainers, not much in the way of profession trainers, but AN INN AND A WINDRIDER! I beelined (or is it bull-rushed, since I'm a Tauren?) for the inn and told him to make it home. From there, I went out and did a couple of quests (Hunting Plainstriders was Shades of Camp Narache, which was warmly endearing rather than annoying. The unicorn-zebra hybrids better known as Zevrahs were interesting, though.) before hitting up what has to be one of the easiest quests in the game.

"Hey, you wanna run this to Thunder Bluff for me? If you've got the cash, just talk to the Wind Rider master and see what you can do about getting a flight out."

I don't think I've mentioned it here yet, so I will: I love Wind Riders!. Riding the zeppelin is one thing, and it's pretty awesome until they throw up the time-pass image. The Wind Rider, on the other hand, lets you watch the whole trip, which is my favorite part. So having to do it for a quest was practically a reward in itself. Even better was the second half of the trip. "Oh, thanks! Hey, you're a pretty awesome runner...would you mind taking these back with you to The Crossroads? Since you got here by Wind Rider, you'll already know where the station is. I promise you'll be--"

I heard "compensated for your time and expenses" hollered behind me as I accepted the items and raced for the Wind Strider. I didn't care what the offer on the table was, I was getting another quest reward early. Sure, it's a personal expenditure, but it's an AWESOME personal expenditure! Three silver and a few copper for an item run with two Wind Strider rides was almost too much, though the reimbursement was still pretty cool. A few more levels, and I may have to go back and see about clearing out the Venture Co people around the wells, as well as the Bristlebacks down by the Red Rocks area (though I'll work with questers there...I know I hated the fact that they randomly blocked my way to the Ancestor Spirit); both always carry loads of copper. Or linen; linen's cool, too, now that my First Aid is up to better than "band-aid" status. I also have to go back for the blasted Horn of Arra'chea, but that's okay; I'll be in the neighborhood, anyway. Once I'm Level 15 (Arra'chea will be a piece of cake by then, but that's fine; not crazy about facing a massive Kodo, anyway.), I'm heading back to get my bear form, since I don't have a party to help take on Lunaclaw.

Besides, I have to get rid of that Cenarion Lunardust somehow.

Simon Says I'm:: bouncy

So, Burningsky had her first leech today.

( What's a leech, in this case? Let me tell you. )

Wow, that nap really helped. Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to take care of that itch in my throat

Simon Says I'm:: dorky

Drinking-wise, 2007 was a weak year for New Years parties. I had a Sunset Cruiser, some weird Pineapple Colada that wasn't really a Pina Colada, a Mike's Hard Cranberry, and a Khalua B-52. However, even though I spent most of the night barely being able to breathe, the fun factor was through the roof. Nothing quite like karaoke to get the party REALLY started and going all night long. I also learned that, even between coughing fits, I can fake a song I don't know pretty well, and I have an easier time hitting the really low notes and the really high notes. (In short, I can sing like a man AND hit all of Whitney Houston's extended kick-me-in-the-groin high notes.)

Not a lot of Filthy Irishman distribution happening, though, unfortunately; I waited too long to start the mixing. With the overabundance of alcohol that WAS there, however, I wasn't too worried about it. Besides, it was all the more for me to bring home, and a girl can never argue with three pints of her favorite ice cream in the fridge, with one barely nicked.

Going to have to hit up WoW to see what they're doing for New Year's, if their event is still live. Free booze in Thunder Bluff (thank Gods my Tauren Druid is already there!), fireworks displays...should be pretty awesome.

Speaking of fireworks, the local display they had was pretty neat...a pity they fired it off about FIVE HOURS EARLY. New Year doesn't strike 'til Midnight, folks. Didn't stop it from being awesome, though.

Speaking of "awesome", I don't know why, but that's become the new word of the day for me. *shakes head* Could be worse, I guess.

Simon Says I'm:: accomplished

However, random people helping each other out is awesome.

Huge massive "fuck you" to the random duel people, though. First you, a level 6, stand there and laugh at me in the middle of a combat. Then you track me down and wait 'til I'm talking to a major quest giver to try to challenge me to a duel (thank Gods this isn't a PVP server), and laugh at me again when I decline. No, I'm not a pussy; 1.) I'm not specced for PVP (I'm actually not specced for much of anything, being--you know--LEVEL ONE!), and 2.) I actually have a hearty dislike for random PVP. Smacks of the PK problems I had to deal with back on Battlenet. And you're shocked that I ignored you from then on out?

The random guild invite for my newbie Undead Infernomancer (I HATEHATEHATE the word "Warlock", even if that IS the class name. It's almost as bad as my hatred for a five-letter C-word which will not be mentioned here.) was awesome, too. It's a pity it seems to be run by a drunk twelve-year-old and his personal posse. The one guy I partied with seemed pretty cool, though, so hey--kudos!

Oddly enough, all my dueling problems have been strictly related to my Undead characters. My Dwarf and--for the most part--Night Elf characters get left alone. My Tauren, on the other hand, has encountered nothing but friendliness and helpfulness, which is awesomesauce in and of itself. As for my Human...

...meh, haven't really played her much. Not a huge fan of Humans. BIGBIG fan of cows, though. MOO!

In any event, Happy New Year, one and all!

Simon Says I'm:: artistic

I know some MMO's do something for Halloween, Christmas--the big holidays. Few of them go to the extent Blizzard appears to have gone, and I'm loving it! I'm going to have to hustle my Tauren--both of them--to Orgrimmar, so they can have a visit with Greatfather Winter! My dwarf (specifically created for a rush-trip to Ironforge) got kind of screwed with her Winter's Veil cookie (but pluses to stamina and strength are always good), but some people are getting some really nifty things.

I love Winter's Veil, and even though I won't be here for its debut, I can hardly wait to see what happens for New Year's!

Simon Says I'm:: recovering

Sick days suck, but at least I'm on the out end of this cold. I really wish I'd managed to miss it entirely, but at least I'm still alive--even though my nose hates me and my throat's been trying to murder me lately. Now I'm mostly just dealing with congestion and a nose like a leaky faucet. Could be worse, though.

Talked with some friends the other night, came to find out they were also on WoW and part of a fairly flexible (level-wise) guild. The invite was lovely...but I had nothing on their server. So, what's a girl to do? Make another alt, of course! A "Healing Touch" sounds really good right about now, but I'll settle for continuing to have fun with my druid--even if the damage output leaves something to be desired (at the moment). Is there something notable about staves that I should be sticking with them? I'm already not a HUGE fan of two-handed weapons (too slow!), but I seem to get even less damage with the stick than I do with a busted sword on my Warrior. The Wrath spell, on the other hand, is just what I've been looking for! Gogo sniping baddies!

Simon Says I'm:: sick

Loot was pretty good this year, all things considered.

- Quill Pen (with ink, no less!)
- Magnifying glass (I'll make a use for it)
- Cloak pin (AWESOME! Totally using it next year)
- Bookmark (Handmade--love my mom)
- Wolf calendar (makes me feel a little stupid for already buying one, but again--I'll make a use for it!)
- DVD of collected photos
- B&N Gift Card

Now, there seems to be a trend lately, regarding gifts the receiver really could do well without. I know they say it's better to give than receive, but hubby and I could've done without the following gifts (listed with the giver in parentheses):

- 1 dishware set (Grandparents-in-law) NO ROOM AT THE INN! This is Set #3! We're not alone, though--every married couple save my in-laws themselves got the exact same thing. The in-laws and unwed got clothes.

- 2 common colds (Unknown) Hubby brought it home, and now we both have it. At least we're suffering together.

- 1 backed-up sink (Apartment, Kitchen), requiring us to ruin somebody else's holiday by making them come out and fix our sink because something keeps happening with the folks upstairs that causes the sink to gum up. At least it was fixed when we came back, but I still feel sorry for ruining someone else's day off.

At least dinner was nice, and a good time was had by all with the family.

Simon Says I'm:: sick

It's been a pretty good day, so far. We believe we've finally pegged the real problem behind the faulty graphics-related crashing,so I'm back to being able to use my computer for part of what it was built to do.

Speaking of gaming, hubby and I made the worst possible mistake of my writing career.

He picked up World of Warcraft. For both of us.

"I just wanted something we could both do together, Honey, and you said you've thought about giving it a try before." Damn those commercials on Speed! (The channel, not the drug. Not a druggie, 'kay? Thanks.)

So yes, we decided to try various acts of Warcraftery on my newly-fixed computer, and after an hour's worth of installation and patching alone (yergh), we got into the game, whipped up characters, and got moving. It was a fairly traditional mage-fighter combo (shugenja and yojimbo, the way I see it), but one that worked out remarkably well. Of course, that was just the intro area; I still strongly believe we'll do well dancing through the rest of Azeroth, but we'll have to see how that goes.

Will I become a Warcrackhead? Probably not; I've broken myself too far from gaming on this computer, and my laptop won't run anything more intense than Internet Explorer (and an ancient version at that). Add that my focus should REALLY be on my book right now, and it's just something I can play with the hubby when he's interested in offing a few Grellkin.

I also have to say this: not bad on the dance moves, but the armor color coordination needs some work. Note to self: work on posture. Shoulder pain bad.

Simon Says I'm:: drained

You know, I usually put a fair amount of stock in dreams; they can generally say how stressed a person is, what they're really thinking about (or should be), decide our diets (a bad dream after a lobster humidor? Not eating THAT again!), and--in rare circumstances--even tell the future.

In light of all these circumstances, I'm really hoping it's something I'm eating, because if it's anything else I should probably be a little worried.

Friday night: I get into the dream, and I'm walking around, outdoors, in an unfamiliar neighborhood. It's about mid-morning on a winter day, and I'm almost the only one around--the place just looks dead. I eventually get accosted by a well-dressed woman on her way to church, asking me why I wasn't dressed and did I fear hell? I looked down, and a stiff breeze came up just in time to make me realize that yes, I was naked, and should probably get something on in short order. She huffs off, muttering to herself, and I'm wrapping myself in old newspapers, discarded towels and curtains, andtrying to find somewhere I can stay until I can get actual clothes somewhere and figure out what happened.

Okay, so it's the standard naked-walking-down-the-street dream...except the woman was speaking in Spanish! Not broken, Americanized Spanish, either--fluent Castilian Spanish. And I understood her like it was English, immediately translated in my brain. (By literal translation, she was asking if I feared danger, but in the context she was using, she was referring to hell. Odd.) While I know some Spanish, I am most certainly not fluent in any of the dialects--Castilian or otherwise.

Saturday night: I find myself at some kind of Christmas Eve service, in attendance with a family I worked for (in the dream, not in real-time). Everything starts off well enough, before the meeting kicks it up quite a few notches into a sweating, swaying, screaming bible revival meeting...and I notice that the revival meeting is actually being hosted by demons. Two of the three children from the family I work with are approaching the podium, and the demons take particular interest in them. I'm barely able to rescue two from brainwashing, but the third disappeared into the crowd, and I didn't save her before the end of the dream.

I'm not entirely sure what either of those were getting at, but I'm a little leery about the theme. I'll have to think about it more.

Simon Says I'm:: weird

Well, things will be a lot calmer, now. Quieter, too. Both the accuser and the accused have apparently decided to take a bit of a hiatus from the group--and one half, at least, is withdrawing from much in the way of personal correspondence (see yesterday's entry). Not sure about the other; I'm still interested in the outcome (though it seems cooler heads are starting to prevail), though I don't want to butt in where things are supposed to be private. I'm not anybody's parents or anything.

On the other hand, it's been a good time overall. The family's holding it together, I've been catching up with friends I haven't seen in a while (including my best friend...a pity she picked up bronchitis, but I'm glad she got over it reasonably quickly), and I've kicked off a couple of nifty handicraft projects. Unfortunately, work continues yet on the Major Plot Points, though I swear I'm going to write up a quick ending and leave the brushing up to the revision stages.

Oh, and before I forget (and the power might go out), A Blessed Yule to everyone! (Also, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Have An Overall Good Day; might as well cover everybody, while I'm at it. :P)

Simon Says I'm:: blank

Well, after the craziness that was yesterday, I still haven't heard from the moderator. That could be good, bad, or indifferent; they have posted messages to the list, but they've all been short link-messages that were probably forwarded to the list almost as an afterthought. Otherwise, the list has been quiet in regards to the subject matter at hand.

However, much to my surprise, I received an email from the suspected poser.

Within lay the usual pleasantries, and the continuing of a few conversations we'd been having for a while. However, toward the end of the email, and for the first time, I started to get concerned...something was pinging. He said that he wouldn't be as active on the list or on his personal email account as he had been previously--and the timing is far too close to be coincidental, I believe. (Considering he was far from regularly active in the first place, it stands out to me that he would mention being even less active, in either case.) Paired with a private message no doubt sent first thing this morning (if not earlier), the reaction is meshing with mental notes composed after previous experiences dealing with posers.

Hopefully, I am misreading the situation, but it may well turn out that their suspicions were correct and my gut was off. We'll see how things go.

Speaking of developments of the weird and uncomfortable variety, I ran into an associate of mine tonight I never expected to see again. He's a fellow geek gamer who was part of our tight-knit gaming group for quite some time. Back in August, he got dishonorably discharged from the military for stealing. Normally, this wouldn't warrant much mention; everyone thinks the paychecks are hot in the military, until they actually get a look at one. There's a reason everything's cheaper on base, and only part of it has to do with the no-taxes thing.

But no, he wasn't stealing for food or necessities--those could be explained, if never condoned. (The military, for its failings, takes reasonably good care of their soldiers.) He got dishonorably discharged because he was stealing Warhammer figurines.

It took me a moment to wrap my head around that, so I'll type it again: he stole Warhammer figurines. Enough to get him banned from both branches of my regular store for life, and to get him booted from the military.

And people think the AFJROTC Oath bit gets ignored. "I will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do." Guess there are some real-world applications I can use, now, if someone asks about it. They probably won't, but I've had weirder things happen.

Simon Says I'm:: drained

I saw a commercial today for Dunkin' Donuts-brand coffee--the kind you can take home and make yourself. I nearly cried; that was my favorite coffee, before I couldn't drink it anymore. Oh, don't get me wrong; tea's great and all, I just sometimes wish I could just take a sip or two every so often without my heart complaining later.

In other news, it's very chilly out here (though not brutally cold), and all my pencils keep disappearing. I don't know what keeps happening to them, but I can't well finish marking up the base lines for my mother-in-law's bookends if I keep losing my best tools for the job. Speaking of arts and crafts:

1.) I need to learn how to do more than just braids and borders; there's more to Celtic-style art than that. Progress is slow, but I knowit'll happen at some point.

2.) I need to get cracking on that fanfiction I'm working on; be it getting further with the story or just getting it down, I need to do something.

3.) I need to decide whether or not I'm going to update the background on my laptop or not. I like the one I have now, but there's something about the text on there that just bugs the hell out of me, and I want to change it out.


And finally, on an unrelated parting note, I need more pants...or just a better diet.

Simon Says I'm:: bored

Well, it appears at least one of the relevant parties has listened to reason; the inflammatory message with graphic has been removed, and a private message to the defendant in question has been sent. It's progress.

Unfortunately, another, much less obviously hostile message was sent later--again to the public list.

No word from the moderator yet; for all I know, I'll get told off for trying to "tell people how to do their job". This moderator doesn't strike me as the kind of person to do that, but posers can make people do stuff they wouldn't normally do if they've been burned before. This group doesn't strike me as one that's been hit before, but the actions of a few members seem to say otherwise. A simple overreaction to a misinterpreted series of email exchanges?

I don't know, and I'm not terribly bothered either way. I just want this over and done with, and as little damage or other notable aftereffects left in its wake

Simon Says I'm:: hopeful

Good: I finally finished off the tin of tea I've been working on for the last week or so. Now, I'm two bags from done on another one. Overall, not too bad--now, if I could just figure out how to remove the stain from my teeth...

Bad: My grandmother passed on yesterday. Granted, at least she's not suffering anymore, but it still sucks to lose family members. I'm doing all right, but others in my family aren't necessarily doing so hot.

Ugly: I love my list. I really do. (Well, it's not strictly MY list, as I don't run it, but it seems as much like an 856th home as anything else on the Interhood.) However, it seems my crew has just kind of gone floating on the HMS Crazyboat, all of a sudden. Did I miss a cruise ticket somewhere?

Posers. They're just one of many of the viral little bastards plaguing the Internet, and they're probably one of the biggest banes to a fan-following there can be. As it turns out, there are suspicions of one on the list in question. Why is this crazy, one asks? Allow me to explain:

1.) The accusation was made in public (on the list) without prior private discourse. I believe (and experience has backed this theory) that such an action is more likely to incite a riot than any other desired response, and will certainly cause no end of problems to the people on the list. Worse, the text was hostile, and a graphic (posted in what is believed to be the poster's native language, which is not one I am familiar with, but context is enough to concern me) was posted to accompany the text of the accusation. I believe, as a list composed entirely of rational adults, that this was a grave mistake in judgement--both on the part of the accuser and of the moderator, who allowed this (though under what terms, I do not know.)

2.) There is very little evidence provided (or explained) that would implicate the accused as posing as the celebrity in question. While I have not personally met with the celebrity, myself, I have enough evidence from interviews, appearances, and source-direct quotes to make comparable notes to bring me to this decision. Until the prosecution (as it were) provides more evidence than just "he's dropping hints he is so-and-so", I cannot accept the perceived need to make the accusation public.

3.) In relation to the above: I have had correspondence--private and public--with the accused. While I can see where "hints" might be perceived, I strongly believe that if he was, in fact, a poser, he would be one of the worst posers in the history of the tactic. As a matter of fact, it surprises me greatly that so many intelligent, perceptive people could see this, believe him to be a poser...and get so absolutely outraged.

Now, don't get me wrong; I'm as much against posers as the next fan, but I believe that only reasonable action should be taken--and I believe many steps were skipped, and steps taken exaggerated, in this case.

I've spoken to two of the relevant parties (the accuser and the moderator), and the accuser has offered me the chance to explain my stance. No word from the moderator yet, and I'm trying to figure out how I should talk to the accused (if I should at all, at this point; somehow, I doubt he will believe I am strictly there for his side of the story, and I can't blame him in the least.)

Simon Says I'm:: annoyed

Oh, if only I was referring to the fine art of library work. No; instead, I refer to the strange phenomena that renders my feet and hands as cold as a corpse in the morgue while the rest of me feels just fine. The first prototype of the writing gloves worked well enough for the main portion of my hands, but when the joints in my fingers still kept locking up due to cold, I realized I'd have to go further. My fingertips can continue to work as they are, but I have to do something about the rest of the finger itself. I'll have to see what I can do with my next ball of yarn. I love this sock-weight stuff--how it feels, how it knits up, how it doesn't feel rough and stiff despite being an acrylic, how it resists any and all fraying...I just love it. And in two of my favorite colors, I really couldn't love it more.

So yes, the hands are cold, the tea is warm (though cooling), and I need to figure out just what I'm doing for dinner. I also need to figure out how I can get this nifty soap scent I picked up on Sunday in a moisturizer.

I clear out two boxes and half a tin in one day, and I think I'm doing all right. Two days later, I'm still working on the same remaining half of that blasted tin. I'm losing my touch, that's all there is to it.

So yeah, yet another winter storm on the way. This time, we have wind coming with the snow. A proper blizzard? Only time will tell; I just hope we don't get ice along with it. Ice, I can live without. Well, I could probably do without strong winds, too, but the winds will eventually die down. Ice takes a while to melt. Keeping power would be the optimal case in all events, and that's what I'm REALLY hoping for, but I'm keeping my eyes open.

Work continues on my novel. I'm seriously thinking about writing out certain plot elements and focusing on one or two bits instead of having all these complex mini-subplots trying to fight for my attention. Might make it a little less fun, but if they're really that impressive, they'll come up in a future book.

And finally...for some odd reason, I feel like writing Invasion/Prison Break crossover fic. What the hell is wrong with my brain? *headdesk*

Simon Says I'm:: blah